Jurors: Past didn't convict O.J.

LAS VEGAS -- Was it what he did in a $39-a-night hotel room in Las Vegas last year? Or was it what many people think he did on a dark sidewalk in Los Angeles 14 years ago?

A day after a jury convicted O.J. Simpson of armed robbery, kidnapping and 10 other charges, an attorney for the former NFL star dismissed the guilty finding as "payback" from a largely white jury for Simpson's 1995 murder acquittal.

But jurors insisted that they were focused on the case at hand.

"We went out of our way not to mention that," juror Fred Jones said.

The retired steel salesman acknowledged that he thought the Hall of Famer killed Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman in 1994 but said he had put it aside to during 13 hours of deliberations. "That was never, never in our thoughts," he said.

The foreman, Paul Connelly, called the Los Angeles acquittal "fair" and said the murders "really didn't come up" in jury room discussions.

The jurors' finding -- guilty on all counts -- was a complete rejection of Simpson's defense. His legal team laid much of the blame on the process of selecting jurors. Prosecutors purposely excluded blacks, the defense charged, and the judge prevented them from pressing other prospective jurors on their opinions of Simpson.

There were 11 white jurors and one Hispanic.

Judge Jackie Glass ruled that prosecutors had "race-neutral" reasons for using challenges to remove two blacks. Simpson attorney Yale Galanter said the defense was hindered further when the judge cut off questioning of other panelists who said they could be unbiased even when their questionnaires indicated they had strong opinions.

"We had people who would say, 'I think he murdered Ron and Nicole. I hate the fact that he wrote the book. I don't like his life. He definitely murdered them.' But if they checked the fair-and-impartial box, they were in the pool," Galanter said.

The attorney said jury selection would be "the cornerstone" of an appeal. Simpson, 61, faces 15 years to life in prison when he is sentenced Dec. 5.

The two jurors said the panel worked methodically through the 24 counts -- a dozen apiece for Simpson and for co-defendant Clarence Stewart, who was also convicted. They also said Simpson's fame was not a factor.

Simpson claimed he and five associates went to the Palace Station Hotel & Casino on Sept. 13, 2007, to recover family heirlooms and other personal mementos stolen by a former agent.

Under the Nevada robbery statute, the actual owner of the property that was taken is irrelevant.

The jurors decided that even if some of the $100,000 in sports memorabilia seized belonged to Simpson, a crime still occurred, Connelly said.

Galanter met with Simpson in jail Saturday. He said the retired athlete was "obviously disappointed" and eager to start the appeals process.